Published 9:04 am, Wednesday, June 9, 2010

The Auburn City Commission accepted a legal opinion Monday evening that essentially reversed the previous decision to not renew a one-year contract for a Bay County deputy.

Auburn Mayor Eric Larsen, however, refuses to sign the contract.

Larsen said he believes there is a conspiracy between some of the current city commissioners and the former mayor of Auburn. When elected, Larsen ran on one single issue to make sure funds would not be spent on a county deputy. He wants more city officers.

“I was listening to the majority of the people. The majority of the people don't want it,” Larsen said. “As far as I was concerned I was upholding the city charter.”

At the last commission meeting, May 17, the board used a supermajority vote which required five commissioners to vote in favor of the renewal in order for the motion to pass. It received four. Most thought the issue, which has put the city in turmoil for more than a year, was dead and that there would be no city funds spent on a county deputy.

On Monday the board was presented with a legal opinion by a city attorney based in Troy, Thomas J. McGraw, stating that the commission only needed a simple majority vote, which requires four commissioners to vote in favor of the contract. In the legal opinion, the motion passed May 17. The legal opinion was dated May 26.

Larsen told the board members that he was not aware that a legal opinion had been sought. He found out Monday evening.

“Being mayor I should have been notified. I am the mayor,” Larsen said.

He said he felt like some of the other commissioners were trying to “undermine” him as mayor.

“Who sent this?” He asked the other commissioners of the letter requesting a opinion by the law firm.

“I did,” City Administrator Jo Ella Krantz said.

“Why?” Larsen asked her.

Krantz said she sent it because she was asked to by a few of the commissioners. Commissioners William Reder and mayor pro-tem Brian Raab had asked her to seek the opinion.

Attorney Kevin K. Kilby was present at the meeting representing the law firm. He explained to the board why the issue had been approved at the last meeting and that now the board needed to release the funds to pay for the contract.

City Commissioner Matt Hardy asked Kilby to get to the point.

“Cut the crap, we want the bottom line,” Hardy said.

Kilby told them that approving the contract and paying for the contract were two separate issues. Because the renewal was, in the law firm's opinion passed in May, the city is now legally liable and must pay the bill according to the city charter.

“If the city commission fails to allocate money to fund a valid contract with the sheriff's office, the city commission would be exposing the city to a breach of contract claim,” the legal opinion stated.

At this point there was still some confusion as to whether the deputy contract was approved.

“You're saying the contract was approved?” Larsen asked Kilby.

“Yes,” Kilby said.

Larsen then asked him what would happen if he did not sign it.

“The mayor pro-tem would have to sign it,” Kilby said.

He explained that signed or not, the contract is still a valid contract.

“The legal liability will not diminish,” Kilby said.

Larsen also brought up the question of who hired Thomas J. McGraw for his opinion. He said that the city attorney has always been Thomas Bock based in Bay City and not an attorney from downstate.

Krantz explained that McGraw is also approved as a city attorney.

One community member stood up and told city commissioners that he spoke to Bock on Friday. The man said that Bock told him that he was never contacted about the issue.

Wednesday morning Bock said he was never contacted because in 2008 he asked to be left out of any issues involving police. He said he represents the Auburn police in court and that it would be a conflict of interest to give a legal opinion on this matter.

“I couldn't give a fair opinion,” he said. “All matters pertained to police personnel should be handled by an outside attorney,” Bock said.

Larsen said he will seek Bock's opinion. Bock said, if Larsen does ask him, he will give an opinion.